The Beginning of the End
by ronhermione007
Summary: MAJOR DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ DEATHLY HALLOWS, DO NOT READ. summary inside.
1. Chapter I: On the Train, Again

**A/N: Ok, here's the full summary. It takes place after the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, with Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's kids. Harry and Ginny Potter's second son, Albus Severus Potter, has finally begun his magical education at Hogwarts. He tries to find a suitable group to survive the first year with, but the best he can do is his fiery but intelligent cousin, Rosie Weasley, and her odd new friend, Pandora. Together, throughout their Hogwarts years, the trio becomes the best of friends since the days of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and from one another they learn about life, love, and the truths of their world. **

_**Chapter I**_

Albus Severus Potter watched and waved frantically as his father grinned back at him from Platform 9¾, his figure steadily growing smaller as the train pulled further and further away. It wouldn't have done Albus any good to deny that he was frightened; anybody could see it in his young, eleven-year-old face, the face that seemed to look so much like his father's.

The boy turned away from the window once the train had rounded the corner, and he took a deep breath. Now was the time to begin making acquaintances, friends, that sort of thing; Albus had never really been good at that. He had always been shy, even as a toddler, and very cautious as a small child. Albus knew his older brother James would never let him into his compartment; he was too busy joking around with his important, second-year Gryffindor friends.

Albus pulled a face to himself, knowing full well that he would have to find his girl cousin, Rosie, and seek shelter within her compartment, wherever she was. So he started off down the aisle, and he found himself enduring a great deal of pushing and shoving from the other older students; and at one point, he felt himself almost fall backward from the weight of another boy being thrown on him. The boy turned around, and said unpleasantly, while pointing a pale finger at Albus, "Watch out, you! You don't own these corridors, so stop prancing around like you do, _Potter_!"

The boy had rather unnerved Albus by displaying the fact that he knew his surname; he was pale, with white-blonde hair that was combed and styled very neatly, but it didn't look at all dorky. On the contrary, it looked cool and crisp. The boy's eyes were a very dark shade of blue, almost navy, an eye color not typically seen every day. Albus opened his mouth to respond to the boy's rude remark, but he had no comebacks; he would have borrowed one of James', but he was afraid that one of those might land him locked in a compartment with a broken nose, or possibly something else.

Instead, Albus quavered on the spot and stammered, "I'm – I'm sorry, just – just trying to find a compartment –"

"Yeah, well, find one that fits your status, you're not allowed here!" the boy sneered, backed up by a couple of laughing buffoons behind him that looked one-hundred percent certain to land in Slytherin. "What's your name, anyway?" the boy continued.

"I'm – I'm Albus Potter –"

"Yeah, thought so. You look like him, which isn't saying much..." the boys around him laughed stupidly again.

"Hey, Al!"

Albus closed his eyes. He was saved.

Rosie was running toward him, her wavy light brown hair flying around her lightly freckled face. She looked from Albus to the horrible pale boy, and she raised her eyebrows slightly. "Something wrong here, Al?" There was a note of danger in her voice.

The boy sneered at Albus once more. "Ooooooh, looks like Potter's already got himself a little girlfriend, hasn't he?" More stupid laughter echoed from behind.

Rosie's bright blue eyes, inherited from her father, narrowed in instant dislike. "Actually," she said in a quiet, dangerous voice, "I'm his cousin. And who, pray tell, might you be?"

The boy straightened his posture considerably, and he said in a pompous tone, "I'm Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy. If you're Potter's cousin, you must be that Weasley girl, the one my father told me about,"

"Rose Weasley, yes," Rosie said curtly, "Come on, Al, I've got a compartment; we shouldn't have to waste our time on people like this," and with that, she steered Albus quickly down the aisle and shoved him into a compartment. She threw one last hateful look to the Malfoy boy, and she slammed the door shut.

**A/N: So, what do you think so far? As always...REVIEWS!!!**


	2. Chapter II: Pandora Sanguini

**A/N: Thanks to all you readers and reviewers! Hope you enjoy this next installment.**

_**Chapter II**_

It didn't take long for Albus to notice that he and Rosie were not alone in their compartment. Sitting in the opposite seat was a very intriguing girl who also looked like a first-year; she had a petite figure, like a pixie, and honey-blonde curls cascading to her elbows. If Albus had thought that the Malfoy boy outside was pale, he was nothing compared with this new girl; her skin was white as fresh-fallen snow, and flawless as such. Her face was buried in the latest issue of the _Daily Prophet_, though she looked up when Albus entered.

Albus had to keep from gasping; she was unlike any other girl he had ever seen. Her face was gaunt and shadowed, but not in an ugly way. Her eyes seemed to be her strangest feature; they were huge and silver, like two enormous full moons shining out of her face. They were slightly sunken, giving her the look of someone who has not slept for days. Although the girl's appearance was slightly shocking at first glance, Albus began to get used to it. He even decided that after looking at her for a few seconds, she was really quite pretty, in a dark, haunted sort of way.

The girl smiled in a very friendly manner. "Hello!" she seemed very cheerful, though dreamy and somewhat unfocused. When she greeted Albus, she looked him full in the face; it was not something most eleven-year-olds did when saying hello, and it made him a little bit nervous.

"Hi," Albus replied, his tone cautious and his smile uncertain. Rosie re-entered the compartment quickly and sat down next to the girl. She looked from her to Albus, and then began introducing them all.

"I'm Rosie Weasley, by the way," she said to the girl, her smile warm and welcoming, "and this is my cousin, Albus Potter. Al, this is...Er..."

"Oh, sorry, I'm Pandora, Pandora Sanguini." The girl smiled politely. Then her face became very thoughtful and pensive, "Potter...Potter and Weasley...I'm almost positive I've heard those names before, but I could be wrong..."

"Well, I can't exactly say that I've heard 'Sanguini' before," Rosie admitted. Albus nodded in agreement.

Pandora sighed and replied, "I wouldn't have expected it; my name's Transylvanian, and not exactly the most famous of surnames," she grinned suddenly at Albus, making him quite nervous, "but now I remember where I've heard of 'Potter'! Yes, my mother's told me about you! Isn't your father –"

"Harry Potter," Albus nodded. Pandora turned to Rosie, gazing at her in wonder with her huge, huge eyes, "So if you're his cousin, then you would be –"

"Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter!" Rosie said, her bright blue eyes sparkling with sheer pride.

Pandora leaned back in her seat. "Wow," she whispered, looking in awe between the two of them, "Yes, Mummy's told me the great story about when the Dark Lord Voldemort was killed by your father," she nodded to Albus, "and how both your parents were so brave and heroic!" Pandora beamed around at the two of them, as though they were her most prized possessions.

Rosie tilted her head slightly to one side, "But tell us about your mother; my parents never said anything about her..."

"My mother was looked down upon at Hogwarts..." Pandora began a little sadly, "She's half-blood, see, and this was during the Dark Lord's reign...But your parents put an end to that _very _quickly!" she laughed, and it was as though phoenix song reverberated around the small train compartment; Albus thought it was a rather beautiful sound.

"Who's your father?" Rosie asked.

"My father? Anton Sanguini? He's actually the son of Wilhelmina Bott!" Pandora looked rather excited at this bit of family history.

"Bott?" Albus said slowly, "Is she related to Bertie Bott?"

"Yes!" Pandora beamed. "His younger sister, actually! Bertie Bott is my great-uncle. Wilhelmina, my grandmother, proved to be a woman with rather, er, eccentric taste..." at this point, Pandora looked a little awkward.

When neither Albus nor Rosie responded to this, she continued, "Erm...She, well, she fell rather deeply in love with a...A vampire, a vampire named Sanguini,"

Rosie's eyes widened, and Albus was shocked. "A _vampire_?" Rosie cried.

Pandora nodded silently. "She actually slipped Amortentia into his, erm, _blood_, if you will, and it worked. He became quite infatuated with her, and they married soon after. Well, my grandmother's family, the Botts, didn't like this at all, so she was banished from the family, and her name taken off the family tree,"

"That's awful!" Rosie exclaimed. "All for the sake of love..." she sighed romantically, and then slapped Albus hard on the arm. "You men are such pigs!"

Pandora appeared to ignore this, and continued on, "Well, Sanguini and Wilhelmina had only one child, and that was my father, Anton, a half-vampire. Eventually my grandmother tired of enslaving my grandfather by magical means to continue to be in love with her, so she stopped slipping him the potion," she sighed dramatically, "He left her when my father was two years old."

Albus slowly took in all this information. Finally he said, a very slight note of fear in his voice, "So does that mean that you...You're quarter-vampire?"

Pandora smiled. "Well, I suppose you could say that; but don't worry, I don't quite think I got the vampire blood!" she bared her teeth in what appeared to be a vampire-like hiss. Then she said seriously, "It's my younger sister Anastasia you should worry about..."

After discussing Pandora's family to greater lengths than was perhaps necessary, and gradually laughing a lot more and becoming much more comfortable with one another, the unlikely trio decided to themselves that, just maybe, the world wasn't quite as big and scary as they had made it out to be, and that despite the Scorpius Malfoys and the other things they would have more trouble with at Hogwarts later on, they would never have to look back to know that they would always be there for one another.

**A/N: Whoo! 8 reviews in one afternoon!** **Keep it up, guys!**


	3. Chapter III: The Arrival and the Sorting

**A/N: Thanx for all of the wonderful reviews guys! To Stripysockz: I kind of noticed that plot hole, and I'll try to fix it...Anyway, on with the story!**

_**Chapter III**_

Pandora was the first to notice the huge Hogwarts castle standing magnificently on the mountain overlooking the train tracks. Albus, Rosie, and their new friend changed into their Hogwarts robes, and followed the throng of first years making their way out of the train. The deep night sky shone beautifully down upon the students, stars twinkling brightly and the moon glowing peacefully. One of the first sights the trio saw upon exiting the train was Hagrid, a family friend of both the Potters and the Weasleys. The colossal half-giant drew amazed stares from the crowd of first years, and some of the older students, even though they had seen him before, stood watching him in awe.

Albus and Rosie ran to where Hagrid stood, calling, "Firs' years, firs' years over here!" he was holding a huge lantern, as usual, illuminating the dark path before them. When he noticed Albus and Rosie in front of him, he grinned through his bushy black beard, and spoke in a loud, booming voice to the two of them, while Pandora stood behind, gazing up at Hagrid with curiosity in her huge silver eyes.

"Hello Albus, an' you, Rosie!" Hagrid beamed. "Welcome ter Hogwarts, you two! An' who's this?" he looked down kindly at Pandora, who smiled up at him, craning her neck upward to look into his face.

"I'm Pandora Sanguini, I'm new as well!" she declared.

"Sanguini, eh?" Hagrid's beetle-black eyes twinkled knowingly when Pandora nodded, and he said jovially, "Welcome ter Hogwarts, Pandora!"

Albus, Rosie, and Pandora hurried along the path with the other first years, making their way to where a fleet of small boats sat waiting for them at the edge of the icy black lake. The three children nervously clambered into one boat, and ended up with two other boys sitting with them; a blonde by the name of Michael Macmillan, and a black-haired, olive-skinned boy named Daniel Thomas.

Michael and Daniel looked just as confused and anxious as the trio was. The five of them ended up talking about which houses they wanted to be sorted in.

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor," Michael announced proudly, as Daniel nodded in agreement, "both my mum and dad were in Hufflepuff, but I want to break the chain; they say Gryffindor house is the house of the brave!"

"I just hope I don't end up in Slytherin," Albus said quietly, and the rest of them nodded silently, except for Pandora.

"Slytherin is the house of the ambitious; it's not the house of the evil at all. Some of the best wizards and witches have come from Slytherin house," Pandora looked at each of them with her enormous eyes, matching the color of the moon.

The five of them sat in a sort of awkward silence; Pandora seemed to have a knack for speaking truths that no one really wanted to hear, and they all ended up sitting in discomfort.

Thankfully the boat ride was fairly short, and the gaggle of first years stepped clumsily out of their boats onto land, and made their way with Hagrid at the head towards the enormous double-oak doors; the doors that led to the entrance hall of Hogwarts.

Hagrid raised an enormous fist the size of an anvil, and brought it down upon the doors, knocking three times, with a loud, booming sound. For a few silent moments the first years sat in the utter cold, waiting and shivering as the wind whipped their robes. And then finally, the doors began to creak open.

A slightly plump man in his mid to late thirties was standing on the other side of the doors. He stood tall, erect, and he didn't look like the boy he'd been when he had attended Hogwarts; his dark hair had become sparse over the years, and his face was no longer as round and boyish as it had once been.

The man smiled at Hagrid, who said happily, "The firs' years, Professor Longbottom,"

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here," Professor Longbottom led the first years into the massive entrance hall, which was the size of an enormous cathedral. They walked by a large doorway, through which Albus could hear the voices of hundreds of students, talking, laughing, and reciting each other's summers to one another.

Professor Longbottom led them all into a small chamber off the hall, and they crowded together, standing closer than they normally would have done, and peering around at each other's faces.

The professor spread his arms wide to the crowd of students. "Welcome to Hogwarts, first years! I am Professor Neville Longbottom, and Head of Gryffindor house," he allowed a murmur of recognition to run through the crowd before continuing, "As I'm sure most of you will know, when you attend Hogwarts, you are all sorted into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

"As you continue your education at Hogwarts, your house will become something like your family; you will rest and do homework in your house common room, you will eat at your house table, you will sleep in your house's tower, and you will take classes with the other members of your house."

Professor Longbottom went on to explain winning and losing House points, and the procedure of sorting students, "The Sorting Hat shall sort you into your correct house. Be forewarned, the Hat can see into your mind, and no matter how hard you attempt to persuade it, it will put you in the house in which it feels you will succeed the most,"

Albus remembered his father telling him that he had persuaded the Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin; he supposed Professor Longbottom didn't know absolutely everything about Hogwarts...

"And now, you will all wait here quietly until we're ready for you. Good luck to all," and with that, Professor Longbottom left the chamber.

The students looked around nervously at one another, and anxious whispers ran through the crowd. Albus turned to Rosie and Pandora, who looked just as frightened as he felt. The first years were soon introduced to the Hogwarts ghosts as they glided serenely through the walls, and greeted them all merrily; except for the Bloody Baron, of course, the nasty-looking Slytherin ghost.

Professor Longbottom re-entered the chamber, and the first years followed him out to the Great Hall. They looked over the crowded house tables, waving to older friends and relatives; Albus watched as Rosie waved to Victoire Weasley, their seventh-year cousin, and the daughter of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. He then turned to Pandora, and saw that she wasn't waving to anyone, but instead gazing up in awe at the enchanted ceiling; and the sorting soon commenced.

The slightly burnt Sorting Hat, which had almost been destroyed by Lord Voldemort in previous years, sat waiting for them on an old stool. Professor Longbottom stood with a large scroll in his hands, and he looked expectantly at an old woman with long, iron-gray hair curls, and she nodded once to him. He returned the nod and unfurled the scroll.

"That's Professor Pockwick," Albus heard a girl whisper behind him; "She's the headmistress, and she's dead strict!"

It was at that point that Professor Longbottom stepped forward, "When I call your name, first-years, you will come up, sit on the stool, and put on the hat. Once you have been sorted, you will join the appropriate house table. Aarons, Katie!"

The girl behind Albus who had whispered about Pockwick flounced over to the stool. She had dark pigtails, and looked extremely nervous. She sat on the stool, put on the hat, and waited. Eventually the hat cried, "RAVENCLAW!"

A great cheering rose from the Ravenclaw table as Katie went to go sit with them. The sorting commenced in the same fashion as always and eventually the list came to, "Sanguini, Pandora!"

Pandora gasped as though she had been doused with icy water, and then she hurried up to the stool, put on the oversized hat, and waited anxiously. The hat soon cried, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus grinned and clapped with the others as Pandora went happily to join the Gryffindor table. After a few minutes, a familiar name was called: "Malfoy, Scorpius!"

The pale blonde boy strutted up to the stool, and this sorting seemed to take a few minutes. After a moment, however, the hat cried, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy walked smugly over to the noisy Slytherin table, and sat amongst his gang he had acquired on the train. Eventually, it was time: "Potter, Albus!"

A whisper ran like wildfire through the entire Great Hall, and it felt like an eternity as Albus walked up to the stool; he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Albus had dreamed of this moment ever since his older brother James had told him about sorting. He had always believed that he would end up in Gryffindor, like James, like Pandora, like his parents...

Albus sat on the stool, and he saw Professor Longbottom smile encouragingly at him before placing the hat on his head. Albus squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the expectant crowd, waiting...

It seemed, however, that the hat really had nothing to say, as it said almost instantly, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus felt a wave of relief wash over him as the Gryffindor table got to their feet, stomping and cheering at full volume. He hurried over to an empty seat next to Pandora, who turned quickly to him, and said happily, "Oh, Albus, I just knew you'd be a Gryffindor as well!" Albus grinned at her and turned to look at James, his brother. James returned his grin, and seemed to be saying, 'See? Knew you'd get in Gryffindor!'

Near the end came yet another moment of tension; "Weasley, Rose!"

Rose seemed to be walking as slowly as was humanly possible up to the stool; she was muttering silently, most likely praying that she would end up in the same house as her cousin.

Sure enough, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus and Pandora yelled with happiness, and they swiftly beckoned Rosie over to sit with them. The sorting finished soon after Rosie's name had been called, and the magnificent feast began.

After about an hour of eating, the desserts replaced the main courses. After dessert, the elderly Professor Pockwick stood, silencing everyone in the hall. She raised her arm to the students, and began kindly, "Thank you. Now that we are all pleasantly fed and watered, I believe that we shall all sleep well for the night. Students, please follow your prefects up to the dormitories. It is late, and we don't want to be late for our lessons in the morning!"

A collective groan rose from the entire Great Hall, even the teachers. Professor Pockwick shushed them with a wave of her hand, and she said shrilly, "Have a wonderful first night back at Hogwarts!"

Albus, Rosie, and Pandora, amid all the kafuffle, managed to find their prefects and they made their way up to Gryffindor tower with all the other house members.

Albus bade Rosie and Pandora goodnight, and he found he shared a dormitory with Michael Macmillan and Dan Thomas, the two boys he'd met from the boat ride across the lake, another caramel-haired boy named Aidan Boot, and a plump, cheerful boy named Brendan Creevey.

After undressing and changing into his pajamas, Albus settled into his heated four-poster Hogwarts bed. He sighed happily and closed his eyes, savoring that moment of peace. He truly believed that these seven years at Hogwarts would be the best years of his life.

**A/N: I know, I know, Colin Creevey is dead, so he couldn't possibly have a son; I decided that Brendan is actually Dennis Creevey's kid. That works, right??!!!?!?!?!!**

**Hopin' for more reviews!**


	4. Chapter IV: Classes

**A/N: Thank you guys for hanging on with me there for a while; I was on vacation, and stuff has been occupying my time. This next chapter is all about the classes that the trio has together, and it includes the introduction of a fairly major character...**

_**Chapter IV**_

The first few weeks at Hogwarts progressed fairly quickly; Albus, Rosie, and Pandora enjoyed having their classes together, which consisted mainly of Transfiguration with Professor Mandy Brocklehurst, Charms with Professor Susan Bones, Herbology with Professor Neville Longbottom, Defense against the Dark Arts with Professor Anthony Perkins, and Potions with Professor Zacharias Smith. The trio agreed heartily on one thing: the most obnoxious of the teachers had to be Professor Smith.

They started with Transfiguration. On the first day, the class, consisting of first-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, waited eagerly outside the classroom for their very first lesson ever at Hogwarts. Soon the voice of a cheery-sounding woman called, "Come in, quickly, we've only got an hour after all!" The students filed into the classroom, and Albus, Rosie, and Pandora all sat together, feeling grateful that they had somebody they knew to sit with.

Professor Brocklehurst was a kind, fair, and yet rather shy woman in her mid-thirties, about the same age as Albus' parents; her dark hair was done in one long, thick braid reaching to approximately her elbows, and her warm dark blue eyes were enough to make any student feel welcome, even though she was the Head of only Ravenclaw house. Today she stood at the front of her young class, and she began, "Good morning, students! I presume that most of you have indeed heard of the fabulously important subject of Transfiguration?" About three-quarters of the class raised their hands, though there were a few students who did not, and looked sheepish. Among the students who did not raise their hands was a small, pretty Ravenclaw girl with short copper hair and deep hazel eyes, along with a couple of light brown freckles sprinkled sweetly across her nose. She looked around at the rest of the class, until finally her eyes settled on Albus, who was glancing shyly at her. Albus quickly looked away, not only feeling his cheeks turn pink, but he felt quite stupid as well.

Professor Brocklehurst smiled around and said warmly, "Well, if you haven't heard of Transfiguration, I'm sure you'll do splendidly! That is, if you do your homework and pay attention!" the class twittered and giggled to themselves, feeling much better about the lesson in general.

From that point, they began learning to transform matches into pins, a task to most that seemed both tedious and very frustrating. Michael Macmillan, the plump blonde Gryffindor boy a few tables away, was bright red in the face and looked about to pass out from the sheer effort; it was only until Brocklehurst hurried over and said, "Mr. Macmillan, don't let's overexert ourselves!" that he finally ceased trying so hard.

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After a rather unsuccessful Transfiguration lesson came Charms. The teacher was, once again, a woman, Professor Bones, and Head of Hufflepuff house; therefore, the Charms lesson would be spent with Hufflepuffs.

"I've heard the Hufflepuffs are supposed to be quite friendly, I thought I might get into Hufflepuff myself!" the slightly annoying Ravenclaw girl, Katie Aarons, was chatting incessantly with her friend next to the trio as they made their way to the Charms classroom, "But it seems that intelligence was a more prominent quality in me..." Katie walked by with her nose high in the air, and Albus and Rosie snorted and hurried forward, dragging a slightly confused-looking Pandora along with them.

At last they reached the Charms classroom, and they almost instantly began practicing _Wingardium Leviosa_, which, according to Professor Bones, was "an elementary spell that should be mastered by all first years!" Professor Bones was a slightly plump, rusty-haired woman with a sunny disposition, around the same age as Professor Brocklehurst. She was kind and helpful, though she often got carried away on different subjects, usually about members of her own family, particularly her old auntie who, in her living days, had once been a Ministry official.

Very few people were able to complete _Wingardium Leviosa_ as Professor Bones had explained it, Rosie being one of them; she smiled happily as her feather hovered lightly in the air, almost taunting Albus as he desperately tried to do the same with his. Professor Bones walked by their table, and smiled dazzlingly at Rosie. "Excellent job, Miss Weasley! A true natural with a wand, just like your mother!" Rosie blushed with gratitude, while Albus muttered darkly to himself and Pandora glared at her feather as though it had done her a great personal wrong.

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The next class after Charms was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, again. Professor Longbottom was the Head of Gryffindor house and a close family friend of both the Potters and the Weasleys; Pandora said that her mother spoke fondly of him as well, and that he had even come to tea a few times.

"From the few times I've met him, he seems quite nice," Pandora was saying as the trio made their way down to the greenhouses, "He and Mum are really quite close, they were great friends at school, and I always hoped I'd end up in his house..."

"Well, look here, it's the spineless famous boy, the filthy little half-blood, and his weird blood traitor of a girlfriend..." Scorpius Malfoy had blocked the three friends' path, with two Slytherin boys standing behind him; one was quite short and fat, and the other was tall and thin. They laughed stupidly in unison, and Scorpius grinned smugly. Rosie looked livid, though Pandora looked simply confused.

Nevertheless, anger flared up in Albus, and he snapped, "Don't you talk about my friends like that, Malfoy!" Malfoy let out a sneering laugh, and he began in a mock high voice,

"Oh Mummy, save me! Potty and his two idiots threatened me, they might shoot sparks at me and sprinkle flowers in my hair!" the Slytherins laughed, and Scorpius said haughtily, "Honestly, Potter, you need to consider who you're talking to..."

"I doubt you'd last five minutes in a duel with my cousin, _Malfoy_!" Rosie spat, stepping in front of Albus and glaring into the pale boy's face. Scorpius' navy blue eyes narrowed, and he wrinkled his nose at her; for some odd reason, he seemed to take Rosie a lot more seriously than Albus.

"Oh, yeah? Why don't you try and _prove_ it, _Weasley_?" Malfoy hissed, though just as Rosie opened her mouth to retort, Professor Longbottom appeared beside them.

"Is there a problem?" he asked politely, looking from Rosie to Scorpius, both of whom were glaring at each other, their eyes full of hate.

"No, professor, we're finished now," Rosie replied, shoving her way past the Slytherins and hurrying on to the greenhouses with Albus and Pandora on her heels.

Once in the greenhouses, Professor Longbottom began his beginning speech, and once he was finished, they began inspecting several simple magical plants, not coming into great contact with them. While inspecting, Rosie was muttering darkly to Albus and Pandora, "That Malfoy brat is a real git...A child only an insane mother could love..."

Albus wasn't listening. He was instead peering at the fluffy leaves of a Flutterby Bush, thinking of the pretty Ravenclaw girl from his Transfiguration class. He watched Pandora, who was smiling at an odd, spiky-looking plant, and Professor Longbottom was explaining rapidly to her the properties and defenses of the plant...

"Albus, are you even listening?" Rosie cried incredulously, bringing Albus back to his current situation, "...Oh, never mind. We shouldn't have to waste our time on vile people such as he...Oh, look, class is almost over already..."

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Professor Anthony Perkins was the Head of Slytherin house, as well as the D.A.D.A. teacher. He wasn't warm and fuzzy like Professor Brocklehurst, nor was he cheerful and witty like Professor Bones; he was serious, but not necessarily unkind. He was very reserved, and kept his hands clasped behind his back. He surveyed the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins carefully as they filed into their desks, making Albus feel slightly fidgety, as though just by looking at him, Professor Perkins would instantly know all of his deepest, darkest secrets, memories, and desires.

Scorpius Malfoy, along with three other Slytherin boys and a very pretty Slytherin girl, sat in a row of desks behind the trio. Malfoy was whispering with them and staring determinedly down at Albus, Rosie, and Pandora, and the Slytherin girl sitting with him giggled nastily. "Ignore him, Al. He's just an annoying, self-centered little brat," Rosie said just loudly enough so Malfoy could hear her.

"Welcome to first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am Professor Perkins, and I will be your teacher in this particular subject for the next seven years," he slowly walked around his desks, closer to the students, so that Albus was able to get a better look at him; he was thin, his dark brown hair was streaked with grey, and his eyes...

_Hang on_, Albus thought, peering closer; however, it seemed that his own eyes were not mistaking him. Professor Perkins' eyes were violet. Not straight-out _purple_, but violet, a grayish-purple, and his eyes were different enough from most other people's to keep Albus staring rather rudely at his professor's face.

There was something different about Professor Perkins. Something that everyone in the classroom appeared to have picked up on, because when the lesson was finished, Rosie instantly leaned in to Albus and Pandora and whispered, "Is it just me, or is Perkins the creepiest person you've ever met?"

Pandora looked at her, her silver eyes widening (if it was at all possible) in surprise, "I didn't think he was creepy. I thought he seemed very nice...Perhaps a little gruff and rough around the edges, but I have a feeling that once you get to know him, he's a very interesting person."

Albus smiled at her in relief, because Pandora had just voiced exactly how he'd felt, and even better, she had been able to put it in intelligent words.

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The last class for that day was Potions with Professor Zacharias Smith. Smith wasn't the Head of any house, which, no doubt, most likely made him feel spiteful towards the other teachers. He, by far, was Albus' least favorite teacher; the only nice part about Potions was that it was spent with the Ravenclaws.

Albus quickly arranged it so that he, Rosie, and Pandora were sitting relatively close to the pretty Ravenclaw girl from that morning. As he sat down, she smiled shyly at him, and he only succeeded in giving her some sort of demented grimace.

Professor Smith ran a hand through his straw-blonde hair, and he said in a nasal sort of voice, "Good afternoon, I'm Professor Smith, your Potions master,"

Like the rest of the teachers that day, Professor Smith gave his beginning-of-the-year speech, and the rest of the lesson was spent going over various potions they would be covering that year.

Once Potions was finished, the Ravenclaw girl came up to the trio. Rosie and Pandora smiled at her uncertainly, but the girl was fixed on Albus. She smiled warmly at him and said, "Hi! I just noticed who you are, you're Harry Potter's son, aren't you?"

Albus nodded, feeling a bit disappointed that the first thing she had spoken to him about was his heritage, his oh-so-famous father, "Er...Yeah, I am,"

The girl grinned brilliantly. "Well, I'm Charlotte, Charlotte Carmichael. It's nice that we have two classes together!" she said cheerfully.

Albus blushed, though he didn't know why. He smiled lamely and berated himself for it once Charlotte had left. He hurried up and followed Rosie and Pandora to lunch.

**A/N: Whoo! That was long! Reviews, please!**


	5. Updates!

Ok, fabulously dedicated readers: I'm going to have to make some changes to this story, now that JKR has elaborated on what Luna Lovegood did after leaving Hogwarts...

In case some of you didn't get the memo, she left Hogwarts and married the grandson of Newt Scamander, Rolf Scamander. They had twin boys, Lorcan and Lysander, but no quarter-vampire daughters for her.

So...I'm not going to eliminate Pandora altogether, but I'm changing her parentage. Check it out:

Sanguini (vampire)Wilhelmina Bott Alfred BelbyMary Jones (Muggle)

Anton Sanguini Beatrix Belby

Pandora SanguiniAnastasia Sanguini

If the family tree didn't come up right, I'm sorry. I'm turning Pandora's mother into a half-blood who was in Hufflepuff named Beatrix Belby.

Secondly, Scorpius' middle name isn't Abraxas; it's Hyperion.


	6. Chapter V: A Merry Welcome

A/N: Here we go, after the updates, finally another chapter

**A/N: Here we go, after the updates, finally another chapter.**

_**Chapter V**_

"Get up, Al! If we're not at King's Cross in two hours, Mum'll kill us all!"

Twelve-year-old Albus groaned and tried in vain to shoo Rosie away, but at the same time trying to keep his arm covered by the warm blankets. Perhaps he could sleep for a few minutes longer...Maybe she wouldn't notice...

In a matter of ten minutes the old blanket embroidered with the Chudley Cannons crest was ripped from the bed, and Albus was exposed in his white undershirt and olive-green briefs to the entire freezing room. He toppled off of the bed out of sheer shock, and hit the hard wooden floor.

"DAMMIT, ROSIE!" he roared, using a word commonly frequented by his older brother, and a word he had begun to use more often these days; Albus scrambled to his feet, seizing his pillow and raising it in rage to smack his cousin...

"Oh...hullo, Mum..." Albus slowly lowered the pillow and looked sheepishly into the face of his mother, who stood with her hands on her hips, her brown eyes furious. The room was tense and silent for a moment, and then Ginny shrieked,

"Albus Severus Potter, do you realize how long your cousins have been waiting?! And all for you! You're so selfish, you got that from your father, there's nothing like that on the Weasley side of the family!"

Albus sighed as he put the pillow back onto his bed and shuffled into the bathroom to get ready for the day. As he headed for the bathroom, he passed his handsome tawny owl, whom he had named Capricorn, sitting complacently in his cage and watching Albus with limited interest. Albus dressed casually and glanced at his blurry reflection in the rusty old mirror; he had taken a great interest in his appearance lately. He carefully arranged his black hair so that it was stylishly messy, just like James', only shorter. Bright green eyes gazed back at him from the mirror, and, with a cheeky wink he added for effect, he tore himself away to go downstairs.

At the breakfast table were all his cousins, except for Victoire, Lucy, and Molly, because Victoire was working at the ministry and Uncle Percy's young daughters were at a private Muggle school, even though they had magical blood just like everyone else. He spotted Victoire's younger sister Dominique, who would be beginning her third year at Hogwarts, along with James. The hair she had inherited from her mother fell just past her shoulders, a brown headband set behind her feathery bangs, and her large brown eyes staring dully into her bacon and eggs. The youngest child of Bill and Fleur, Louis, sat beside his sister, and he would be starting his first year at Hogwarts. His own silvery blonde hair was neatly combed and his clear light blue eyes gazed at the Weasleys' grandfather clock, looking not nervous, but quite bored. On the other side of Louis sat Fred, Uncle George's and Aunt Angelina's only son; Fred was three years younger than Louis, and was sulking like Lily had that he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts this year. He greeted Albus with a good-natured smile when he entered though, which Albus returned gratefully.

Albus' younger sister Lily and Roxanne were helping Molly, Ginny, Hermione, and Fleur with dishing out the last of the breakfast plates, and Rosie's ten-year-old brother Hugo followed them around, his loose chocolaty-brown curls everywhere, and his usually bright brown eyes sulky. For the second time, he would have to see his sister go to Hogwarts without him. James sat lazily at the head of the breakfast table, his feet put up, flicking his shaggy jet-black hair out of his handsome face; Rosie was moving quickly around him, gathering her things. Needless to say, they were debating; as always.

"...don't know why you're so pig-headed, James! Does it really take so much to move your..."

"Yeah James, move your arse!" Lily yelled clear across the kitchen, so that Ginny spun around, shouting,

"Lily Luna, don't repeat everything your brothers say!"

"And since when do I tell people to move their arse?" Albus retorted from the foot of the stairs, and Ginny rounded on him.

"Oh good, you're ready, I suppose we can start loading the cars. Harry, will you start loading the cars?"

"No no no, we're not ready yet, Mum, I still haven't packed –"

"That's your own fault, James!"

"Ginny, where are the damn keys, I can't find them anywhere!"

"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, RONALD, THEY'RE IN YOUR HAND!"

General chaos ensued for the next fifteen minutes, as always in the Weasley family, while the cars were being loaded. Albus found himself squeezed into a Ministry car with Rosie, James, Dominique, and his parents, which meant that Dominique sat on his lap while Rosie sat on James'. At first, James resisted vehemently:

"I will _not_ have this impudent _thing _on my lap, Mum, not in the name of Merlin's saggy left –"

"Oh, and you think that I _enjoy_ sitting on the lap of a complete and utter toad?"

"Quiet, you two! James, she's your _cousin_, for heaven's sake, stop being an idiot and try to be flexible!"

The car ride to King's Cross was, therefore, quite uncomfortable. Capricorn was being insolent and wouldn't stop hooting in the boot, while Rosie and James periodically insulted one another, and Dominique was somewhat heavy on Albus' lap, sitting completely rigid and staring straight ahead.

When the glorious moment of their arrival finally came, Dominique bolted out of Albus' lap and exited the car at once, brushing herself off as if she'd greatly soiled herself. He turned to see his uncles Bill, George, and Ron and his aunts Fleur, Angelina, and Hermione striding toward them with Louis, Fred, Roxanne, Lily, and Hugo. Everyone got their trunks from their respective cars, and the large family went on their way to King's Cross Station.

Albus remembered how to get past the barrier to get to Platform 9 ¾, as did everyone else. When they passed through solid brick wall, Albus was instantly faced with the scarlet steam engine emblazoned with _Hogwarts Express_. He smiled fondly to himself; he was going home.

Well, to school, technically; but Hogwarts was like a second home to him.

The station was overflowing with parents and students, bustling this way and that, trunks falling over by accident, animals hooting, squawking, and meowing indignantly from their respectable containers, and of course, the audible shouts of Uncle Percy enforcing broomstick regulations.

"Oh my goodness, it's only about five minutes until eleven o'clock, all of you get on quickly or there'll be no more seats!" Ginny cried.

Albus turned and looked up into the face of his father, who grinned down and him and kissed him goodbye. "Have an excellent year, won't you, Al?"

He nodded and returned the grin. Albus kissed his mother goodbye and quickly boarded the train with Rosie, before being shoved aside by James so he could get through to his third-year friends.

Albus pushed through the crowd of students in the aisle to find an empty compartment. He peeked inside each one of them, and each one of them was filled; at last they came upon a compartment with just one person sitting inside...

"Dora!" Rosie cried, hugging the girl who jumped to her feet and hurried forward. Pandora Sanguini stepped back and beamed at each of them; Albus noted that there were only minor changes about her from last year, she only looked slightly older.

He looked into her enormous silver eyes and smiled happily. Now he knew he was really going home.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The three best friends sat in their compartment contentedly chatting away about their summers, Rosie's and Albus' summers both being quite similar. Pandora told them about how she had gone with her family to Transylvania, where her, ehem, _grandfather_ was from, and how she had seen the most beautiful old castles there.

"But," Pandora said with a smile, "We're on our way back! I'm just so excited to be going back, aren't you?"

Both Albus and Rosie nodded enthusiastically.

Several hours into the train ride, this merry reunion was interrupted by their compartment door suddenly sliding open, and three second-year boys in black robes trimmed with green stood in its opening. Scorpius Malfoy and his muscular cronies, Henry Zabini and Dmitri Romanoff, sneered scathingly down at them.

Albus stood, fearing they may have come for a fight; and Scorpius just laughed contemptuously.

"Look, Potty, Weasel, and Buffy have returned for second-year! The morons, they should have stayed home in the dump where they belong, don't you agree, Zabini?"

Albus opened his mouth to eject a clever retort, but Rosie's tongue was quicker.

"Get out, _Malfoy_! Stop embarrassing yourself and just get out!"

Albus turned in surprise to see that his cousin was on her feet, and her hand was buried in her wand pocket. Her face was angry, her bright blue eyes fit to melt iron...

Malfoy's eyes narrowed as they always did when he verbally jousted with Rosie. "You know, it's really sad they still let people like you in at Hogwarts; you'd think they'd treat the school with just a _bit _more respect, rather than littering it with trash like this..."

Rosie was shaking now, and Albus feared his cousin would explode.

"And what has your family done, Malfoy? They only killed good, noble people who fought for a brave cause...They were cowards, the whole lot of them!"

The navy blue eyes bored icily into hers. After a tense moment, Malfoy backed out of the compartment and beckoned to his cronies to follow him. The door slid shut, and the three young Gryffindors sat in uncomfortable silence for a while.

At last Pandora said in a quiet voice, "I can see the castle from here. We'd best get changed into our robes."

Albus and Rosie nodded in agreement, and the three of them went to go change.

**A/N: So, it's been a while. But I'll start updating perhaps a bit more regularly now. Write your reviews and tell me what you're thinking!!**


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